Daniel Day-Lewis becomes Honest Abe in Spielberg’s Lincoln

Jenna Milly is a screenwriter. She co-created the TBS microseries "Gillian in Georgia." She earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Georgia and a M.F.A. in Screenwriting from UCLAs School of Theater, Film and Television. She...

Happy makeover, Mr. President

A new photo shows a first look at the mesmerizing makeup job done on Daniel Day-Lewis to transform him into Abraham Lincoln.

Murders, soldiers, aliens and sharks, director Steven Spielberg has covered it all in his films. But now the acclaimed director is switching gears and doing a movie about a historical person. That's a different kind of makeup job!

In Spielberg’s new historical drama, Lincoln, actor Daniel Day-Lewis gets more than just a makeover as he transforms himself into one of the most beloved presidents of all time -- Abraham Lincoln.

From the salt-and-pepper hair swoop to the tuft of iconic beard, Lewis is looking more like Lincoln than we ever thought he could. It doesn’t hurt that he already has that famous bump in his nose. After viewing this comparison photo of Day-Lewis -- in the fedora that it’s tough to see him without these days -- in March of last year at a screening of the drama My Left Foot, it’s obvious why Spielberg chose him for the part. He’s Lincoln incarnate.

It doesn’t hurt that Day-Lewis has also won two Oscars, one for best actor in There Will Be Blood and another for My Left Foot.

In this comparison photo, you can see just how much -- if anything -- was done. Looks like it was no trouble at all to transform Day-Lewis into the spitting image of the iconic president.

Lincoln takes place at the height of the Civil War, as the president leads his Union army to overturn the Confederacy. Tommy Lee Jones plays Thaddeus Stevens, the witty Speaker of the House who was known for being an outspoken politician. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Robert Todd Lincoln, the president’s son. Mad Men’s Jared Harris plays Ulysses S. Grant, and Sally Field plays Mary Todd Lincoln. If Day-Lewis' transformation back to the 19th century is this uncanny, we can't wait to see what Spielberg does next.